#he's got to have the legion believing he knows what he's doing

[pocketbelt]

they announced one of the main writers for FFXIV: Dawntrail is the one who wrote the Shadowbringers trial series, "Sorrow of Werlyt", and the amount of people going "ew no that's the one that redeems Gaius" drives me kind of insane

That storyline takes Gaius and says "Behold this idiot, watch and be stunned as everything he ever said to anyone turned out to be fucking obviously wrong. Watch as the fascist imperialist philosophy he ingrained into his beloved children makes them run to their deaths, even as he pleads them not to, and they tell him to fuck himself and do it anyway. Marvel as he watches them die by your hand, you, who destroyed Gaius himself at the peak of his life, and he can do nothing to stop it", and that's a redemption arc to people

The only surviving kid only makes it because her brother acts to protect her, she doesn't make it because of any act of Gaius'

The entire story is literally "In case you somehow missed it in ARR and most of Stormblood, everything Gaius believed in was horseshit and there's no such thing as a 'noble general in the evil empire'". All his meritocracy bullshit vanished the second he was gone, no-one but his own children believed it or held onto it, and the empire put someone directly opposed to that belief into his old seat when he vanished. No-one cared, no-one else "believed", the Empire was never about that, it was only propped up in his own singular legion by him being there and the second he was gone the legion dumped it and moved on and only Gaius was too naive and stupid to see it.

I mean for fuck sake, the Empire digs up the chemical gas weapon he explicitly had sealed away and destroyed all record of after he's gone and if it wasn't for a particularly dedicated and enterprising catboy and his comedy crew of hardcore engineers, it would have caused the eighth apocalypse

Even the follow-up in patch 6.4, of the family portrait, isn't some "aw he good now" thing. The family portrait you help organise for him has to have four of its six members be projected onto the scene via a machine's reconstruction of them as normal people because they're dead, they threw their lives away because the ideology Gaius taught them meant they could only think to die fighting and nothing else. That's his loving family portrait: four ghosts stood at his back as his last living child smiles through her pain.

"well the people of Werlyt didn't kill him for conquering them" they let him clean up the mess he made (which meant watching his children be killed) and as "thanks" they're letting him stay there to live out the last third of his life or so attempting to atone by fixing the damage he did.

He's 56 at the time of ARR; the Empire he gave 3-4 decades of his life to is gone, it's a smouldering ruin, all but one of the people he loved is dead, his surviving daughter is scarred by the path he led her down, and what few friends he had are also dead. He learned that his beliefs were all horseshit and pretty much everyone around him except for himself knew it, he must live knowing that those beliefs got his children killed, all that he achieved that he once considered "good" was for nothing, he learned that the cool old emperor he idolised who had no magic but built an empire by pulling up his bootstraps and who told him that magic and gods were bad was actually an ancient incredibly magical sorceror attempting to resurrect his own god.

That's not a redemption arc, he's the most owned man still alive in XIV

[megumimania]

STARSTRUCK — art donaldson

synopsis: as art’s donaldson’s biggest fan you have to make yourself known to him by any means necessary.

warnings/tags: nsfw under the cut (17+), art x superfan!reader, reader is kinda delulu, p in v sex, public sex, unprotected sex, first time writing smut so be nice i beg 😩, please don’t fuck in bathrooms or have unprotected sex,!

art shouldn’t even be here right now.

the pr mess that would ensue if he was caught by an eagle eyed fan or the paparazzi was a nightmare that he didn’t want to deal with. after all what brand would endorse a player that had been seen attending a club?

the neon sign of the club illuminated the street corner, creating a light purple haze that drew him in like a moth to a flame. new rochelle was a fairly uneventful county and since tashi was away every night doing god knows what, art was desperate to kill some time.

he entered the club in a baseball cap, sunglasses and some sweats, trying to mantain a low profile. but it was hard to be discreet when he was casually adorning a rolex on his wrist, which drew some attention from some patrons with how it caught in the light.

bass filled rap music was blasting through the speakers as art moved his way through the throng of the bodies dancing, grinding and making out in the club.

thankfully no one bothered to pay attention to the random white dude in sweats as he took his spot at the club’s vip section, sipping on his drink and mindlessly swaying to the beat of the music.

men and women came over to his section, trying to charm and flirt their way into his pants or to get a drink but he wasn’t interested at all.

he was pulled out of his thoughts by a tap on his shoulder and his immediate reflex was to say no pictures but when he finally made out who it was his face paled, the blood devoid on his face.

how did you know he was here?

art couldn’t believe it.

his number one super-fan aka the head of the so called artnation on twitter and instagram had managed to track him down. honestly he was both super impressed and kind of freaked out but he didn’t let it show. what a way to spend to spend a friday night, he thought to himself.

you were everywhere he went: at the meet and greets, the us open, wimbledon, the australia open, his launch parties. every time you met him, you always had that stupid starstruck look in your eyes when ever he signed another piece of memorabilia for you to add to your collection, made you look even more pathetic.

“how did you find me?” art grumbled, his plans for a quiet booze filled night going down the drain.

what made matters worse was the proximity between you both. you were leaning over him, your boobs practically spilling out of your dress. your voice was a mere whisper, tickling the hairs on his sensitive neck.

god he was a wreck.

“i have my sources.” you replied, not wanting to give

that part was believable. art’s legion of super fans were unreal. whilst some spent their time breaking down the cost of the outfits he wore and some spent their time speculating on his future collaborations, others spent their time tracking his location.

“well…uh it was nice meeting you. again.” art spluttered, looking for the way to end the conversation without sounding like an asshole. “i’ve gotta go to the bathroom.” he stood up taking his leave.

“wait up!” you called out after him. you needed to grab his attention for a longer while, you wanted to have a conversation with art that was memorable, something that you two could joke or talk about when you both “ran” into each other next.

“is it true that you and tashi are getting a divorce?”

“what?” art’s head spun around so fast that he almost gave himself whiplash.

“where the hell do you get off on making up rumours about my wife like that?” his stepped closer to you and you could make out the tick of his jaw underneath the strobe lights. yeah he was pissed.

you sometimes got ahead of yourself and this was one of the times where you low-key felt bad for overstepping boundaries, but in your eyes it was all apart of the fan experience.

what you didn’t expect was to be getting fucked by the art donaldson in a dark club bathroom, his fingers stuffed in your mouth so you wouldn’t make a sound.

who knew that art’s anger towards your lack of respect for his marriage and privacy would have him end up fucking you in the club bathroom?

the music drowned out your moans and the sound of skin slapping against skin as art buried himself inside you, his tip just brushing against your g spot. your dress was bunched up to your hips and your panties were in tatters on the ground.

“hope you’re fucking proud of yourself. all those years of stalking me and my family finally paid off hm?” he groaned against your ear. the way your pussy was milking him dry was enough to send him into a frenzy.

art should’ve felt bad or even guilty for what he was doing, his wedding ring still being on was a glaring reminder of his promised vows of fidelity but what was a relationship without any secrets?

maybe thats why he was here right now, balls deep inside you. he wanted a secret, something to hold over tashi, drive her insane, make her second guess he ever told her, like he did on that one night in atlanta.

you were too fucked out to respond, your mind becoming hazy with each thrust. you held onto the bathroom wall, desperately attempting to anchor yourself into this reality.

“f-fuck don’t stop.” you shuddered as art kept his brutal unforgiving pace, not paying attention to the banging outside the door.

“is that all you gotta say to me?” he grabbed onto your hips, pulling you flush against him so that you now took every inch of his dick. “c’mon i know you got a bigger vocabulary than that.” he teased, rolling his hips into yours watching your jaw go slack as you became drunk on him.

you whined at the sensation, your wet pussy fluttering around him, making his eyes roll back. “please i-im sorry.” you pleaded, your eyes glossy and filled with lust and need but art wasn’t swayed that easily, so he played dumb.

“sorry for what?” he asked, his hands finding your tits, squeezing them as his fingers rolled over your sensitive nipples, eliciting a mewl from you. he wasn’t gonna last any longer if your cunt kept him prisoner like this.

“f-for harassing you and invading your privacy—shit!” you groaned out as art started to fuck into you again, leaning forward to give you a sloppy, wet kiss. “that’s more like it.” art grunted in your ear, feeling his climax soon approaching.

his strokes were more frantic, less controlled as his hips stuttered with each thrust, the coolness of his wedding band against your hips contrasting with the warmth you both felt building up inside of you both. it was literal bliss.

the knot that was finally building up inside of you finally snapped as you came all over his dick with a cry, slumped over his shoulder. his orgasm slowly approached after, as he came all over your dress.

you both stayed like that for a moment as you tried to regain your breath, your hearts beating in tandem with one another.

the passion filled atmosphere dissipated as you were pulled back into reality, the buzz of chatter outside the door, the click-clack sound of heels entering and leaving the bathroom, the smell of weed and cigarette smoke coming from the window.

art looked like he was mentally somewhere else, maybe the weight of his actions finally settled in. tashi didn’t look like a woman who could stay with a cheater. you weren’t going to wait for him, you already got what you wanted and even more, this night would be enough to satiate you for months.

“you run to the blogs or the press about this and i swear on everything holy and good that i will sue your ass for every penny that you have. you got that?” he was back to his professional tone that had you weak in the knees before leaving the scene of passion soon after.

sure you spent your days talking about him in fanspaces online, speculating about his life but you’d never let this night of passion be shared online. it was too intimate, too personal. despite its brief nature of your encounter it was what tied you together.

you were apart of his life now, whether the memories of tonight that he’d have were good or terrible, you completed your goal. you left a lasting impression on him and would occupy a space in his mind no matter how many times he tried to forget.

people always say to never meet your idols but maybe they’ve never had the chance to fuck them yet.

[ineffablelunatics]

Crowley’s Memory of Saraqael and Furfur

There’s a distinct parallel to be drawn from Crowley’s interactions with both Saraqael and Furfur. Both times, Crowley pretends that he doesn’t know who they are. Both times, the opposite party explains who they are to him in detail. But what are the differences?

Furfur. Furfur comes into the dressing room with just Crowley and Aziraphale. He tells Aziraphale that they’ve never met, but Crowley has met him. Furfur explains to Crowley that they were in the same legion before the Fall. Crowley says that he remembers going into battle, but not going into battle with Furfur. Furfur becomes agitated and explains how they fought together. Then says that it doesn’t matter, because Crowley broke the Infernal Code by consorting with an angel. Then the rest of the scene ensues. But why did Crowley say that he didn’t remember Furfur?

It was the only power that Crowley could show in the situation. If he lashed out immediately then Furfur knows for certain that he’s guilty. If Crowley acts like he doesn’t remember Furfur then it could be plausible that he didn’t know that Aziraphale was an angel. It’s plausible deniability. His status in Hell also helps with this. From what we know the lower demons wants to be him and the higher demons are annoyed by him. The lower demons know that he gets to work on Earth, almost for himself, but the higher ups don’t like that he acts indifferent and can be quite arrogant. So when Furfur comes saying that he’s broken some rules, Too Cool For Hell-Crowley starts answering, “Who are you? I can’t even remember who you are. How was I supposed to know he was an angel? Who cares?”

Saraqael. The first thing that Saraqael does is answer Crowley’s question to Muriel about Gabriel’s trial which he hadn’t even started to ask yet. They say his chosen name and then say that they didn’t think that they would ever see him again(not too affectionately but not hateful either). Crowley says that he doesn’t know them and it seems genuine. Saraqael says ‘when you were an angel; we worked together on the Horsehead Nebula.’ During this statement, they’re almost smiling, but then he answers that he meets a lot of people whilst laughing, and this annoys them(similar to Gabriel later). But did he actually remember them or not? If he doesn’t, why pretend?

I think Crowley remembers who they are after they mention the Horsehead Nebula. Simply, because he laughs. At first, he looked like there was a blank, but of course, a nebula would trigger his memory. If he remembers them or not, he has two options: tell them he knows them or tell them he doesn’t. Pretending that he remembered them would maybe give Saraqael a reason to trust him. If they trust him, maybe they will let him look at the file anyway. If he does the opposite, pretend he doesn’t know them(or maybe he really didn’t), then it almost looks more honest and trustworthy. For some reason, most of the angels don’t take the time to remember them whether Crowley knows that or not, up for debate. But if he really wanted to get into the file, then wouldn’t the best way to be making a friend like he did with Aziraphale? But for some reason, he knows that it isn’t. Because I really do think that if he had told them that he had remembered, they wouldn’t have believed him. I think either way, they were going to let him into the file. The archangels believed that Crowley and Aziraphale had more information. Yes, he got himself into the file and all that, but Saraqael didn’t try to smite him, and that means that he chose right.

Between these two interactions, Crowley acts very differently to the two people involved. To Furfur, he acts indifferent, but also agitated. He’s wearing his hat to his brow with his glasses on and he keeps his legs turned away from him. To Saraqael, he looks them in the eyes with glasses that are quite light, comparatively. He doesn’t turn away and he stays engaged. He even laughs. The first thing that Furfur brings up the War and the Fall. Two things I don’t believe Crowley likes to remember. The first thing Saraqael does is answer questions and reminds him about stars(some of Crowley’s favorite things). They don’t bring up the War or the Fall or even Eden. They bring up the fact that they worked together on the stars. I think he respected them for that.

So does he remember them? I think so. I think maybe that he was drawing a blank on Saraqael, because from what we see in Before The Beginning, Crowley was very absorbed in his work. So he might would need some specifics to help him out. Furfur, on the other hand, he might not have remembered, because he blocked him out, because he tried to block the Fall and the War out. Either way, it was plausible deniability on his part. My main reason for his memory being intact(perfect?no) is Muriel and Gabriel. When Gabriel is in the bookshop with just Crowley, they talked about gravity and he said that it seemed like a good idea when “we” were all talking about it. He also knows Muriel’s rank and class without them ever mentioning it prior. He also knows exactly what their job entails. He also remembers where Gabriel was pulling those lines from when he would “wake” up. Crowley seems like he has a handle on his memories. Now, could there be something wrong with them or did something happen to them? Were they fixed? Maybe, he walled some of them off like humans do. Either way, I’m excited to find out.

[sciencebecameouraddiction]

it all fell down

part two: icarus rises

ratings: M (talk of war, rebellion, death and destruction, bleeding, wounds, lots of curse words, etc etc.)

summary: after adam died in the first extermination, lute calls for more frequent exterminations, rallying heaven’s population into believing that hell is a threatening force. once she succeeds, the legion of angels can come down to hell every 6 months, the only difference, charlie and lucifer aren’t safe any more. with their backs against the wall, rebellion is the only option but what happens when heaven pulls their final ace in their sleeve?

part one

previously: i try and smile at him but he smiles back at me, so genuine as if to say don’t worry. his eyes close and charlie screams out. my head falls to his as i press a kiss to his forehead. “goodbye, my love.”

moments later we hear the pants and running of a group of people and i quickly lay lucifer down and get in front of his body and charlie, ready to protect them. when suddenly angel appears, looking at the wreckage and then his eyes widening. 

“no.” he says, as husk is just silent. cherri gasps and holds onto angel as nifty runs up to charlie, holding her arm. angel’s eyes widen as he looks at lucifer closer.

“he’s not dead! he’s still breathing!” angel exclaims, running up and looking at lucifer. i move over to his body and look at angel shaking my head. “give him this!” angel says thrusting the bottle i had given him earlier into my hand. 

“angel, he’s not…” husk starts and is promptly cut off.

“no! he is. check!” angel exclaims pointing at lucifer. i sigh and as i bend down, i’m not sure why i check. i had been so sure a few moments ago that my precious morningstar was dead, gone to the world. maybe it was hope, a fools hope that i still held onto from my time in heaven. maybe it was for charlie, who i wasn’t sure if she could go on after loosing both her parents. one of whom she technically killed. or maybe this was for me, because i didn’t know who i would be or what i would be with him gone.

i reached down and felt his wrist, my eyes widening as i felt a very faint thrumming. i moved my head to his mouth and nose, placing my ear close and i could hear breathing, so faint but there. my eyes widened as i propped him up.

“charlie, help me open his mouth, hurry.” i asked. she froze looking at me like i was deranged. husk stepped in quickly and opened his mouth, i poured the rest of the golden liquid into his mouth, threw the bottle off when the last drop went it and helped lean his head back so that he could swallow it. i watched him with baited breath looking everywhere for any sign it worked. 

it took a few moments but i first saw his cheeks have some color return to them. his pallor generally getting better and i quickly lifted up his shirt, watching the wound start to stitch itself together. i started crying again.

“thank you, angel. oh my god. it worked.” i looked at charlie. “it worked.” she looked at me, disbelief in her eyes.

“he’s going to be okay?” she asked.

“i think so. i think so, charlie.” i cried and she hugged me tight. “but we need to get out of here. do you think rosie would mind us staying in cannibal town?” i asked.

“i-i don’t think so.” she said, shaking her head and clutching vaggie.

“then let’s get over there. husk, grab alastor, he’s over there. do not let him out of the ropes either.” my tone a bit commanding as i picked up lucifer and started to make our way to cannibal town. 

____________

once there, we got lucifer set up on a bed. that was the first thing i asked as rosie took in our battered group. alastor out cold and tied up and the king of hell in my arms, was a sight on her doorstep. from there, i told them alastor needed to be set in a chair and for vaggie to watch him. not to do anything, but to watch him. she nodded as charlie sat with her dad and husk, angel, nifty and cherri went off to get new clothes for all of us. 

after setting lucifer up, and making sure charlie was okay, i walked back down stairs and saw that alastor was awake and quiet. which a part of me was grateful for. i ignored him for the time being and went over to rosie.

“i’ve never seen ‘im this quiet.” rosie quipped looking at him. she pointed to some tea on the table and i quickly drank it, suddenly more thirsty than i thought. 

“thank you for helping us.” i murmur to rosie. “im not sure what deal he had or what he did, but lilith owned his soul, with her gone, he’s in full ownership but i don’t know if that’s necessarily a good thing.” rosie nodded and looked at me as i started to open my mouth to apologize, knowing this was her friend.

“don’t you dare start apologizing. you just helped save us all. and whatever alastor did over there, he can handle himself. of course i worry about him, i care about him, but again, he can handle himself.” she said as she gave me a push over to vaggie and alastor. as i walked over both their eyes met mine. i kneeled in front of alastor, looking him in his eyes.

“will you answer my questions?” i ask and watch as he nods. 

“honestly?” i ask again.

“i can make a deal that i will if that’s what you want.” alastor speaks for the first time, his voice a little hoarse and the radio effect no where to be found. 

“okay. i set the terms though.” i say, “you tell me the full, complete truth, not withholding any information, to me and whoever can hear you in this room. in return i owe you nothing.” i say my hand held out, i look to rosie to see if she approves and she nods. he sighs and shakes my hand, green glowing around us and then fading.

“lilith owned your soul?” i ask, starting basic to ensure the deal was at play.

“yes, she owned my soul.” he responded easily.

“why did you make a deal with her?” my inquiry falls after i sit myself on the floor in front of him. 

“i wanted power. she wanted a scapegoat at the hotel.” he sneered.

“scapegoat, what do you mean?” i ask.

“she had plans to take lucifer out seven years ago. originally her plan was to take him out, become the ruler of hell, take the rest of hell out in its entirety, all so she could live her life of paradise in heaven.” vaggie gasped hearing alastor.

“she was going to kill charlie?” she asked, her face contorted in to disgust and shock. alastor didn’t answer her.

“was she going to kill charlie, alastor?” i ask him and he nods. 

“he can only answer my questions right now i think. but i’ll repeat yours.” i say looking at vaggie who nods. rosie looks more distraught than she did before. “why did you enter into this contract?”

“for power. i wanted unimaginable power. i wanted to rule hell, and then take down heaven. i thought that there might’ve been a way to twist the contract i made with her in my favor but it was sealed. the terms too absolute.” he added on, as i nodded.

“why did you come to the hotel? you also said she needed a scapegoat. why?” my head tilting to the side, trying to understand.

“she wanted me to keep an eye on charlie, know the progress of the hotel. she was livid when lucifer came out of hiding and actually started helping charlie with her cause.” he shook his head as if remembering a bad memory. “she needed a scapegoat as she was going to destroy the hotel and lucifer and charlie. she couldn’t come down to rule if all of hell knew she had killed their leaders, especially because of the sins and their relationships with lucifer. so, i was to be the scapegoat to have, supposedly, torn down the hotel, killed them both and then she would kill me.” rosie gasped as her teacup shattered hitting the ground.

“alastor… what?” she cried, her face horrified.

“which in her doing all that, then there would be extra motivation to get rid of hell because it would become ‘look what this wayward sinner did, they’re a threat to us all.’ and she’d look like the savior. but all of hell would trust her as she saved them.” i finished. “is that right?”

“you’re very smart, yes.” alastor nodded and i sighed. 

“did you want to do anything she asked of you?” i asked, trying to understand what to do with the demon in front of me. his eyes widened and he looked confused.

“what do you mean?” he shot back.

“just that, did you want to do anything she asked of you or were you forced. remember, you have to tell the truth. fully and completely.” i reminded him.

“i-“ he stopped him self, almost like he was trying to hold it in, not wanting to say the truth. “no. i didn’t. at first i did.” the man in front of me just looked tired at this point. “i wanted the power she promised, but i soon learned her actual plans and of course i didn’t want to go along with that. i don’t want to die. but then i realized that i had grown to… care for the patrons of the hotel. but there was nothing i could do, and i wasn’t able to speak about it either.” alastor looked sick at his own confession. 

“okay. okay. i won’t have you confess to any more feelings big guy.” i rolled my eyes, relaxing at his explanation. inherent evil, i wasn’t too sure how to deal with, but someone who had found the power of friendship, we could deal with that. i stood up and offered my hand to him again, he went to take it and i withdrew, stopping him. i brought my hand back out and explained.

“i’m making a deal with you. this is a deal for your soul. consider it probation. i’m not restricting your powers, but you may not act, create a deal or any other thing that would harm, hurt, cause danger or possibly kill any of the patrons of the hotel, the staff, charlie, vaggie, lucifer, myself or rosie. you need to stop with the power grabbing shit and be content with trying to be the top dog of the sinners in the pride ring okay? i can restrict, revoke or give you more power at any time i see fit. in addition, i can change the terms of this contract as i see fit at anytime, with or without your approval. you are to continue your work at the hotel, and none of your riff raff little friends like mimzy are allowed unless they are seeking redemption. do we have a deal alastor?” i reach my hand toward him. he growls.

“i’ll be on another leash?” he asks.

“for a while. be a good dog and i might let you off sometime.” i smile and he rolls his eyes, shaking my hand. “good boy.” i say, grinning at him as i wave my hand and the angelic rope falls off him. 

“now i am sure you either want food and some drink or to go to the tailor, you’re free to do as you please, but i would go give rosie a hug because she went through the five stages of grief listening to you tell all of that.” alastor turned to rosie, seeing her look absolutely livid, with tears streaming down her face.

“you’re an idiot.” she says, hitting his arm as he walks up to her.

“so i’ve been told.” he easily responds, going stiff as she hugs him. i make my way upstairs and see charlie reading to her dad as vaggie and i enter. 

“alastor’s all right. he’s taken care of. we can talk later but how about you both go get something to eat and find husk and angel. nifty and cherri are with them. i’ll stay here.” i smile as charlie gets up.

“are you sure.” she asks, looking like she wants a change of clothes, food and a good bath.

“positive. bring me back something that’s not pinky fingers” i joke with her. she smiles and starts to leave but turns back at the last minute and runs up to hug me. i hug her back as she looks at me.

“thank you. for saving us. for saving him.” she says.

“it was really angel on your dad there, but anytime love. now go. we’re fine here.” i smile as her and vaggie rush off. i collapse on the edge of the bed, grabbing lucifer’s hand as the weight of everything finally hits me. i turn my body and rest my head against his chest, feeling the hot tears in my eyes and the lump in my throat as i clutch him to me. the sobs wrecking my body as i look at him, like he was peacefully sleeping. all i could think was that i almost lost him. i almost lost him. i almost lost him. he nearly died. he died. he was gone… my mind started spiraling as the panic and emotions i had to push aside all welled up. until i felt a hand on my head. my thoughts stopped with a screeching halt. i slowly looked up and saw the black claws i knew so well, resting on the side of my face now. i followed the arm up to his face, his eyes were just barely open and he had a gentle smile on his lips. i cried looking at him, holding his hand in mine and nuzzling my face into his touch. 

“you’re awake.” i croak and he nods. his other hand pats his throat and my eyes widen as i realize he needs water. i look at the end table and see water there with a straw, i help him drink some, very slowly easing into it. “don’t gulp it, i know you want to though.” he clutched my hands as i held the cup. he finally sat back  and sighed.

“how do you feel?” i asked, my hand resting on his thigh and my other hand in his. 

“like i got impaled by my ex-wife.” he said, deadpanning looking at me. i smile and shake my head. “just tired honestly. i think my body has healed most of my injuries.” 

my head nods and as i reach up to his face, caressing his cheek and rubbing gently across his cheek bone.  he rests his head in my hand. 

“what about you? are you okay?” he asks, seeing i still had on what i wore in the battle. 

“i think i’m fine. i haven’t gotten changed or checked any injuries. had some other stuff to take care of. but there’s nothing you need to worry about. everything is all right.” i explain, knowing he was about to ask.

“where’s charlie?” he looked around the room. 

“she and vaggie met up with husk, angel, cherri and nifty. they’re finding clothes and food, since we’re in cannibal town.” he nods and looks around. 

“what about alastor?” a dark shadow crosses his face.

“he’s taken care of. he’s alive and he doesn’t want to hurt the hotel or us.” i explain not wanting to get too far into it as he just woke up.

“where’s lilith?” lucifer asks, looking at me, his eyes swimming with emotion.

“i-she’s… gone.” i try to say. 

“what does that mean?” his eyes narrowing at me.

“she’s dead, lucifer.” i tell him as his eyes widen. 

“who… did you?” he asks and i shake my head. 

“charlie…” i didn’t finish the sentence as lucifer looked at me in shock. 

“no. not charlie.” he cried, tears rolling down his face.

“i was close to you and the minute everything happened she went off in a fit of rage. she’s pretty distraught over it. thinks you’ll be upset. i told her you wouldn’t be angry at her, but i don’t think she believes me.” i explain more as lucifer cries harder. 

“i never wanted this for her. she’s-she’s my duckling. i was supposed to protect her.” he cries, his head hiding in my shoulder. 

“you did though. you fought for her and her dream. you did that.” i clutch him to me. “you’ve done well sunshine.” he cries harder hearing me call him sunshine and i just hold him.

—————————-

hours later feet bound up the stairs, the loud noises were prefaced by a gasp and the sound of glass breaking. lucifer and i, sitting next to each other on the bed, as i was reading the book that charlie was before she left, look up and see charlie in the door way. her clothes changed and hair freshly washed. tears streaming down her face as she launched her self at lucifer. 

“dad!” she cried. i slide off the bed as charlie wrapped herself around lucifer. my smile is soft. 

“oh charlie.” he cried, waterworks opening again. 

“i’m so so sorry dad. i-i-i” charlie started to hyperventilate and lucifer brushed her hair away from her face.

“you have nothing to be sorry about. nothing.” he told her fiercely. “i am so proud of you. it’s all right.” he said as she cried harder and nestled on his chest. i looked at vaggie and then at lucifer, motioning between vaggie and yourself and then to the door, communicating you both would be leaving. he nods and mouths ‘thank you’ as i nod and vaggie and i leave, shutting the door to give them privacy. we get downstairs and the rest of the crew comes up to us.

“i gotchu a change of clothes.” angel says.

“some good food.” husk adds.

“all the things you need to smell good!” nifty exclaims.

“and i was told to give this to you as you like this shit?” cherri asks, handing me some apple wine. i laugh for the first time today.

“thank you so much. all of you. the apple wine is more of a lucifer thing, so i will hide this until he’s given the all clear to drink other fluids.” they all go back to eating, vaggie joining them and actually laughing and joking along with them, in her own way. i walk over to rosie and alastor.

“i just wanted to check that you both were okay.” i say walking up to them.

“right as rain, darling!” alastor says, the radio effect back and a new suit on his frame.

“we’re fine, darling. you go wash up now.” rosie says and i nod, walking off to the bathroom and getting rid of the war torn clothes adorning my body, washing off all the grim on my body and bandaging myself up quickly before padding back out. i see charlie coming down, a smile on her face as she walks up to me and hugs me tightly.

“thank you.” she whispers.

“of course.” i reply easily.

“dad wants to see you, says you should be done washing up by now.” she laughs.

“he somehow always knows.” i shake my head. “he’s like santa clause.” i joke, charlie’s face looking confused. “we can talk about santa later. your friends want you.” i say as the whole crew is looking expectantly at charlie, not wanting to explain santa right now. she nods and dashes off to them, a smile on her face as she hugs vaggie and starts talking to them. i sigh and walk back up stairs and see lucifer waiting.

“did i keep you too long?” i ask sliding into the bed next to him.

“i’d wait an eternity for you and it still wouldn’t be too long, as long as i was promised to hold you again.” lucifer smirks, as i feel my face burn with blush. i shake my head and laugh. “you bandaged yourself up?” he asks.

“the others tended to themselves and they didn’t need another person to tend to. i’m fine.” i respond. he sighs. 

“next time, i’ll be bandaging you up. can’t have you doing that yourself.” he says, shaking his head. i laugh.

“i can’t believe we made it. we made it out the other side luce.” i say, holding his hand in mine. 

“marry me.” he says, his eyes meeting mine. my eyes widen at his request. 

“what?” i ask, my breath gone.

“marry me.” lucifer pleads, his hand coming up to caress my cheek. “almost loosing you and charlie has made me rethink a lot. i don’t want to waste anymore time. marry me, please?” he asks again.

“yes. of course i will!” i cry as i lean in to kiss him. he holds my body to him as i pull away for air.

“mrs. morningstar has a beautiful ring doesn’t it?” lucifer asks. 

“it does, but that doesn’t matter as long as i’m with you.” my head falling to his chest as he chuckled. feeling the vibrations of his laugh and the warmth of his arms, i allowed myself to finally relax. everything had turned out all right and everything would be all right. 

part one

[stainlesssteellocust]

Concept: What if Sulla’s dull and purple-prosed memoirs are actually just as bullshit at Cain’s official propaganda, and she’s just like him fr fr.

She (wrongly) believes that a Hero of the Imperium has the utmost faith in her and can’t bear the consequences of failure should she not live up to his high expectations (which he doesn’t have) and masks it behind her eager soldier persona so hard that even Cain doesn’t see it. And then when she becomes famous a whole generation of Militarum girls read Valhallan Valkyrie at a formative age and start thinking they need to live up to her. Just an endlessly recursive loop of imposter syndrome.

Like what if in For the Emperor when she leads her command squad in a risky flanking attack and nobody is quite sure afterwards whether she was being brave or stupid and she hyped the whole thing up in her memoirs, what she actually wrote in her private diary was:

Obviously the last thing I wanted to do was leave my nice safe command vehicle, which could shield me from the heretic lasbolts until His Majesty got down from the throne, and head out into the open where they could cut me to bits. But the only reason I had a command vehicle at all was because all the real officers had been torn to bits by Tyranids and I’d been shoved into a position I didn’t deserve. It had been made clear that our commanders were counting on me, and if I showed myself to be unworthy I could expect to be back on the frontlines within a week, if not in a penal legion.

Worse, an honest-to-the-Emperor hero had put his trust in me. How a man such as Ciaphas Cain didn’t see at once through my ridiculous persona I will never know - but if Cain had one weakness, and as a woman who had the honour to fight along side him for many years, I think I know better than most his hidden heart - it is that he was perhaps overly trusting of the men and women in his command. Such a noble warrior could not imagine that a regiment such as ours could hide a coward as craven as myself, and if there was anything other than the Emperor’s own grace that forced me out the entrance ramp that day, it was the need not to bring our company shame in his eyes.

Besides, if I didn’t live up to that utterly undeserved faith there’d be no more commands for Jenit Sulla, and I’d probably dead within the year. The only way to keep myself out in danger going forward was, ironically, leaping feet-first into it today. And so, cursing myself every step of the way, I fixed the old “Valkyrie Warrior” expression back onto my face, stepped out of my Chimera, and gave the order to advance.

[deadbydangit]

Could I request the legion with a reader who does crochet and offer them something they made please?

I believe I can do that. Please enjoy.

With a reader who likes to crochet gifts for them: Legion (Frank, Julie, Susie, Joey)

"Wait, you made this for me?"

Frank will start tearing up a bit.

He's never had somebody make him a gift before.

He's never really received a gift before.

"No! I'm not crying! I got something in my eye!"

He'll try and act like a macho man about it.

But he's actually really grateful.

Intern, he'll try and find something for you.

Something randomly found at a trial.

Something that made him think of you.

"Hey, that's pretty cute."

Julie isn't super loud about her praise.

But she does love whatever it is.

Especially if it's an accessory.

And she'll wear whatever it is out.

A scarf? A hat?

She'll wear it.

She'll wear it proudly.

And if anyone dares say anything bad about it?

"What did you just say? Did you say this looked ugly? I'll make you look ugly when I smash your fucking face in you fucking jackass!"

And she will attack and hurt them.

Hey, she's defending your honor.

"OMG, THAT'S SO CUTE!"

Unlike julie, Susie is very loud about her praise.

Like, really loud.

So loud the whole house could hear her.

And she's squealing over the little crafty made her.

She'll be jumping up and down and showing it off to everyone who will look.

"Yeah, s/o made it for me. Isn't it just adorable?"

She'll brag about it so much that everyone's going to start getting annoyed.

But they also don't have the heart to tell her to stop.

Oh, and you better believe she's going to want you to teach her.

"Then we can make cute things together!"

Joey is kind of a combination of all three.

He may act all nonchalant about it.

He'll Pat your head and thank you.

But on the inside, he's gushing.

Screaming in his head.

"Oh my God, this is so amazing. And they made it for me? I don't have anything for them! Why don't I have anything for them?"

And he's going to search high and low to find something.

Something worthy.

And if anybody says anything bad about it?

"Ha! Dumbass, you're just jealous because I have this bitchin' hat and you've got nothing."

Everything you make for them is put on clear display or worn frequently.

They want everyone to know how amazing you are.

[orchidyoonkook]

To What We Were Before, And All The Things After | JJK | Ch. 2

Title: Unknown Numbers and Sharp Tongues

Pairing: Prince!College Student!JK x Fine Arts Major!(F)!Reader

Series Rating//Genre: (M) | College AU, Mild Royalty AU, Smut, Angst, Fluff, S2F2L, Indiffernce to lovers, sloooowwww ass burn

Summary: You get a text from an unknown number and it flips your day upside down.

Warnings: PG13, mild swearing, arguments

Word Count: 3065

Release Date: February 2, 2023, 1:40PM

A/N 1: She’s shorter but just as important

Series: Chapter One

It’s 12:07pm the Wednesday after the assembly. You're sitting on your bed sketching when a text vibration sounds from somewhere within the blankets crumpled beneath you. 

A pencil lead stained hand carefully snakes its way through the sheets to find your phone, and after locating it by your feet, you see a message from an unknown number waiting to be read.

Unknown Sender [12:07pm]: Hey, is this YN?

You raise a brow at the semi-suspicious text.

Normally when this happens, you just delete the message. You have everyone you're willing to speak with in your contacts already, so you know that it’s most likely spam. But the difference with this one?

They know your name. 

That being said, your guy friends back home have been known to, on occasion, pull shit because they know you can’t do anything about it. 

Though, that has never once stopped you from waiting to see them again in person and retaliating. Patience is a virtue and all that, but you think they’d of learned by now…

So you fire back, just in case.

You [12:08pm]: Hobi I s2g if this is you again I’m sending Nayeon that picture of you from 9th grade with shutter shades on and your ass stuck in a tuba 

Unknown Sender [12:08pm]: Oh wow, uhm…no, its not Unknown Sender [12:09pm]: But remind me never to get on your bad side.  Unknown Sender [12:10pm]: It’s Jungkook actually... I may have grabbed your number from Yuri’s phone. I hope it’s okay I messaged you 

Jungkook?

As in The Prince of the Western Shores, Jungkook?

Well...

This certainly isn’t how you thought your afternoon was going to go. 

You figured you'd never hear from him again after Monday’s assembly, like everyone else he’d greeted—Yuri aside apparently. Yet here you were, on your bed, in your university dorm room, having a midday text conversation with Prince Jeon Jungkook of all people.

You laugh to yourself and quickly change his name in your contacts, keeping it subtle. You don’t want someone to see his name pop on your screen and then suddenly have a legion of people harassing you about how you got the prince's number, and if they could get it from you. 

You [12:11pm]: yeah, it’s fine

And why wouldn't it be? You don’t dislike him, though he seemed to have thought so. Sure, you don’t particularly like the guy yet, but you're confident he feels the same about you—if he even thinks of you, that is.  

He probably just wants recommendations for things to do this weekend or to know where the cleanest washrooms on campus are. God forbid his royal bottom touch a less than sanitary toilet seat.

PJK [12:13pm]: Im afraid she had to explain to me who ‘blueballzbitch’ was when I accidentally saw your text to her the other day. Apparently my reaction after reading it was very funny

You [12:13pm]: I cant believe she still hasnt changed my name in her phone! That bitch!! she promised :( You [12:14pm]: Thats only my name because i told her she couldnt bring guys back to our dorm after 1 AM anymore! 

PJK [12:14pm]: can I ask why?

You [12:15pm]: there may have been an incident of a very drunk half naked man climbing into my bed at 4 am instead of hers….  You [12:15pm]: And needless to say, not the nicest way to wake up

PJK [12:16pm]: no I would think not. Though that explains her reaction a bit better

You didn’t even want to know. 

She did kick that guy out the second she heard your scream though, drunk as she was. But it didn’t stop her from moping for a week at your new rule.

Tough, you’d had a test the next day, so your decision was final. 

Your academics wouldn’t pay the price for someone else’s actions. On that you were and always have been, firm. You’ve even lost a few friends because of it.

But now your starting to wonder why he wanted to message you in the first place.

You [12:17pm]: i dont mean to be rude, but why did you save my number? To be honest i didnt think I’d hear from you again after monday

PJK [12:18pm]: well if we’re being honest…

There are a million different ways he could follow that sentence, and your mind is simultaneously running through all of them.

It takes him a few minutes, and a couple disappearance and reappearances of the texting in progress bubble, before a reply comes. Your pencil may or may not be a bit chewed on the end as a result.

PJK [12:21pm]: I was hoping that we could be friends, or acquaintances at least. I dont mean to come on too strong, its just that…. well you’re the only one whos really treated me like a regular guy, and i’d like to have at least one person to speak to who wont ‘glaze over the truth with pretty white lies’ just because of who I am. Its a surprisingly hard attribute to come by in people when you have words like “prince” and “your highness” attached to your name PJK [12:22pm]: Everyone either wants something from me or something I can do for them, and when we met? I could see you just…didn’t. It’s like you didnt even care I was there and that was incredibly refreshing for me PJK [12:23pm]: so um, yeah… that’s why

Oh… 

Oh. 

You were expecting anything else. Like literally anything else. He could’ve messaged you saying he wanted to give up being prince to join a traveling circus and was wondering if you knew the quickest train route into town and you would’ve been less surprised than you are right now.

But…Friends? He just wanted to be friends?

You guess you played your part a little too well on Monday. A part you didn't even realize you were performing. 

Was it really so difficult for people to treat him normally that the only person who had done so in three days, was you? And it was so noticeable that he sought you out because of it? His professors, at least, would have treated him like any other student…right?

You sit up, sketch long discarded on your bedside table. 

What would Yuri think about this? What would Nel think? Jungkook isn't just some guy from your Advanced Colour Theory class, he's the prince of your kingdom. 

You know your boyfriend wouldn't care if Jungkook kissed your hand in a passing greeting, that’s the standard greeting for every woman. 

But friends? 

Regular contact? 

Potentially being seen in public with him? 

Even a high ranking societal man would feel threatened, let alone Nel; the highschool boy you fell in love with from your tiny hometown.

Biting your lip, you think. 

You’re not an idiot. You know if people see you—a girl—hanging out with Jungkook—the prince, but more importantly, a boy—publicly, they will start talking. You know how the media make grand stories from two anonymously sourced, out of context quotes and a grainy picture from 100 feet away. 

What you don’t know is if you would or even could handle the public speculation that came with that. 

You don't want the media to come between you and your education. You don’t want to be at the center of attention. You worked way too hard to get where you are to have it washed away with a shitty ‘Prince Jungkook's college fling’ article that holds headlines for less than a week before the news cycle changes. 

Your credibility would be gone in an instant. And you’d only ever be remembered as ‘that girl the prince probably slept with in college.’

You should say no.

You’re going to say no.

—Wait.

Are you even allowed to say no?

Your phone pings again.

PJK [12:24pm]: i really just want my university experience to be as normal as possible before having to trade it all in for a crown and kingdom. It’s my last shot to experience life as a person before becoming a symbol and im hoping youll be kind enough to help me with that  PJK [12:24pm]: but i understand if you dont want to. Like i said in my speech, im not unaware of the repercussions of my celebrity, and its effects on others, both positive and negative. So please by all means, whatever answer you give, i’ll understand

Shit.

Shit!

Now you’ll feel like an ass if you say no, and you know that wasn’t his intention with the message, but you can't help it. He just wants to be as ordinary as he can be for a while. That isn’t a lot to ask—of anybody. 

After re-reading his messages about a dozen more times, you find your entire view of Jungkook shifting in an instant. 

Maybe he was the spoiled, rich, and plate delivered opportunities prince you expected him to be, but funnily enough, somewhere along the way it was you who forgot that he was an regular person. Just like you had told Yuri such a short time ago, and just like you now had to remind yourself. 

Jungkook’s really not much different than someone without all the special features his title brings him.

And with that in mind, you know your reply.

You [12:30pm]: can i think about it?

And not seconds later.

PJK [12:30pm]: absolutely.

A breath you didn’t know you were holding releases.

PJK [12:31pm]: that’s already further than i thought i’d get—if we’re still being honest. 

You [12:33pm]: im always honest, you dont have to worry about that. And same goes for you, dont worry about being truthful with me. Lies only create problems, and i dont have the time for them

PJK [12:35]: glad to hear it. I look forward to your answer, whenever and whatever you decide

Gently tossing your phone back onto your bed, you leave the conversation at that. You know you wouldn’t be able to make your mind up without going through all possible outcomes in your head first. And Yuri is usually a good enough listener to pipe in with decent advice now and then. 

So, for now, you pick up your pencil and sketch pad, and wait for Yuri to return from her afternoon class. 

A few hours later, and a decent way through your third life study, Yuri bursts through the front entryway. Your bedroom door’s open, and you’ve got a clear view of her shucking off her shoes and outer layers after casting her books onto the dining room table. 

So much for your focus. 

But you're glad she’s back, your conversation with Jungkook from earlier is still wracking your brain.

“YN, Sweets! You are NEVER going to believe the day I’ve had!” Yuri makes her way over to your bed, inhaling deeply enough you know a monologue is about to follow.

“Me too! But you first,” you slip in before the floodgates burst, knowing all her focus will be solely centered on you the second you mention Jungkook reaching out. 

“Jungkook invited me to lunch!” 

Or maybe not.

“Well sort of, that’s why I’m late getting back. He asked if there was a more secluded place to eat on campus,” she says the word like it’s a secret. Like she thinks he asked for seclusion to have it be a more intimate setting with her, versus a more private space for him. 

“So I showed him that little cafe behind the greenhouse that no one ever goes to cuz it’s too far away from central campus—you know the one that might as well just be a part of the greenhouse cuz of how close it is?” 

You nod. You were very familiar with that cafe, frequently going there to paint the flowers in the windows, and also, to think. But she doesn’t know that. It was sort of a safe haven for you, because like she said, it wasn’t a very popular place on campus, so it was quiet. 

You didn’t know Yuri even knew about it. 

Now sitting criss-crossed on the end of your bed, she continues, “Yeah, so I brought him there and we both got coffee, then I got a croissant and he got a sandwich. But YN, get this: we take. our coffee. the. same. way. Try and tell me we’re not made for one another now! Same major, same coffee, next thing you know we’ll be finding out we’d picked out the same baby names.” 

She stops to take a breath and you take your cue. “Woah there, Yurls, slow down a bit on that last one,” she makes a face at you. You ignore it. “But I think it’s great you're making a new friend that you have common interests with and are excited about,” you say, putting extra emphasis on ‘friend,’ thinking back to your conversation with Jungkook about people only ever wanting things he could give them. Surely you could subtly help your friend this way. “Just try to remember you have to be friends first before anything else happens.”

She doesn’t miss a beat. “Friends? YN please! We’re practically already dating, that’s three times in as many days he’s asked to hang out,” she closes her eyes, hugging herself. “I can almost hear the wedding bells.”

You look at her plainly and try your best not to sigh. 

She must know that this is just Jungkook taking her up on her offer, right? The one she made after seeing him off to the cafe by the biz-admin building the other day?

Before they parted ways, Yuri’d mentioned to him that if he wanted more inside knowledge or help getting around the campus he could ask her. And it made sense, having all their classes in the same area, when he said, ‘I’ll take you up on that.’

You know, because not unlike this conversation, she’d rushed home right after to tell you. 

Jungkook’s just trying to get his bearings in what is clearly still a very new experience for him and Yuri’s reading into it all wrong. 

You look at your friend who’s staring dreamily at nothing, more than likely caught up in whatever wedding scenarios of herself and Jungkook her brain is creating. 

Waving a fruitless hand in front of her face before snapping your fingers, you break her trance. “Helloooo? Earth to Yuri, come back down here please so I can talk some sense into youuuuu.” 

“I’m here,” she says, smacking your hand away playfully, gaze snapping to your less than amused one. Her smile falters at the sight. “What’s that look for?”

“Oh nothing, just that you sound like a delusional teenager instead of a functional adult at university pursuing a degree. You just met the guy three days ago and you’re already picturing your wedding together? Because you hung out over coffee twice and showed him where his classes are? He’s still a stranger, Yuri. Can’t you hear yourself?”

Her expression quickly changes to one of offense, and maybe even hurt. 

Perhaps you’d been a little too honest, but it’s not like this was new for you two. Sometimes she needed a swift blow to knock her down and she knows this, she knows you’d never intend to hurt her feelings. You always wanted what was best for her, and you know she feels the exact same way for you. 

So you’re shocked when she says, “You know you don’t have to be such a bitch about it if you’re going to be jealous,” crossing her arms defensively.

Jealous? You are anything but jealous, and you wonder why that’s where her mind jumps to first, brows scrunching in confusion.

“I’m not jealous. Have you forgotten about Nel? Boyfriend of five years, highschool sweetheart, ringing a bell?”

“Nel’s not a prince YN,” she counters in a tone so even, it’s unsettling. “And it wouldn’t be so unheard of for a woman in a relationship to be jealous of her friend who’s in one with a prince she wants for herself.” 

Oh, so that’s where she wants to go with this. She thinks that Jungkook will somehow make you forget about the five wonderful years with Nel. Like half a decade measures up to nothing if it means getting someone with a better name and a bigger paycheck. 

Fine.

If she wants to get bitchy about it, so will you. 

“Yeah, well it’s a good thing you’re not dating one then, isn’t it? Don’t get so defensive when all I’m doing is trying to help you see that.”

Yuri stands dramatically from the bed, clearly pissed, and storms out of your room, grabbing her things from the dining room table.

“I’m going to my macroeconomics class. By the time I get back, either have your door closed, or don’t be here.”

She leaves as rushed as she came, and you try not to flinch at the front door slamming shut, but do anyway. 

You shove your work off to the side, bringing your knees up to rest your elbows on while the palms of your hands cover your eyes, giving yourself a moment to breathe and process. 

This isn’t the first time this has happened and it certainly won't be the last. It was a downside between your personalities. You were the anchor who kept her from soaring too high in the clouds, just like she was the helium that kept you from drowning. 

But sometimes she wanted to see the stars, and sometimes you were scared of the surface. 

Releasing a deep breath, you decide to head out, having finished school for the day anyway. You only had morning classes on Wednesdays—an intentional scheduling on your behalf to have somewhat of a break midweek. You work hard but also know that burnout can kill.

Switching out your pencils for watercolour paint trays, and your sketchpad for your watercolour paper, you decide that the greenhouse sounded great right about now, especially now that you knew Yuri wouldn’t be there. 

There isn’t a better place for you to go and blow off some steam. 

Tossing your brushes, materials, travel water and wallet in a tote, you slide on your shoes and leave the dorm. The door closes much quieter this time. 

Chapter Three: Greenhouse Muses and Surprise Guests

A/N 2: I’m pretty sure this is the shortest chapter in the series (so far) but as you’ve read it’s an important step so I hope that’s okay!

<- Back

[nukaberries]

howdy! if this blog is still active, could you do new vegas companions react to courier six being a synth? idk how they'd find out, prolly either six telling them or a close call with a courser. it's up to you!

This puts anything I've ever requested on Tumblr to shame because this is such a cool idea?? I'm obsessed with crossing over the Fallout games - which is probably why MacCready's my favourite companion - so I find stuff like this so fun to write. I also just love requests like this because it gives me the chance to challenge myself, I feel like I write the Fallout 4 companions better (I definitely have more hours in 4 than any game), so I love getting the opportunity to write for New Vegas companions too!

//

Companions Reacting to the Courier Being a Synth (Includes: Arcade, Boone, Cass, Lily, Raul and Veronica)

Arcade Gannon When the courier reveals the truth to him, he's more embarrassed than anything that he didn't figure it out himself. He's never seen a robot look so unmistakably humanlike before, leaving him with a lot of questions for the Courier. After all, he's seen them eat, drink, sleep and bleed like any normal, breathing human would - can he even be sure this is the same courier that he first met in Freeside? For a while, Arcade will keep a wary eye on the courier, unsure what to believe, whether he can trust the courier, whether he's been able to trust them at all. Eventually, he comes back around, which is arguably worse for the courier, as they spend most of their time answering questions like "do you have an off switch?"

Craig Boone He doesn't think much of the strange man who'd just tried to ambush the courier, even in spite of the odd outfit that was surely far too warm for someone to be wearing in the middle of the desert. It's only when the courier appears shaken up and Boone finds some kind of component when looting the man that he thinks to question anything. The courier is dismissive at first and says that they simply just got caught off guard by the assailant, of course, Boone doesn't believe them but he doesn't see the point in pushing. When the courier inevitably tells him, it doesn't change much for him, he'll naturally be curious at to how the courier's existence is even possible, but as long as they're still willing to take the Legion down with him, he doesn't care what they are.

Cass Similarly to Boone, the revelation of the courier not being as human as they seem doesn't particularly bother her. She'll probably make a couple of jokes here and there, usually ones that the courier has heard a million times before. It doesn't make any difference to Cass though, sure, it's a little weird but she'd seen weirder just by minding her own business at the Mojave Outpost.

Lily Bowen She's fully aware that she's in no place to judge the courier for what they are and she makes that clear the moment that her companion reveals they're a synth. It doesn't necessarily change anything about the courier for her and if anything, she encourages them to talk about what they went through at the Institute, so long as they feel comfortable telling her. She'll remind them that she's still their grandma and she loves them no matter what.

Raul Tejada When you're around for long enough, you hear a lot, specifically whispers of robots posing as humans in the East, spying for their masters and replacing innocent people. Of course, none of that ever sounds like more than old myth to Raul. That is until a run in with what the courier later explains is a courser leaves Raul to deal with a revelation about his new friend. Admittedly, it's a lot for him to take in, especially after hearing so many bad things about synths for so long, but eventually, he figures nobody would want to make a synth replacement of him and if he's been able to trust the courier for this long, then surely he still can.

Veronica Santangelo Being a Brotherhood Scribe, Veronica knows quite a bit about the Institute already, but since hardly any of her fellow comrades have actually gone to the Commonwealth, her knowledge is limited. Still, it causes some uncertainty when the courier tells her the truth about their identity. She's only ever heard bad things about synths and this does seem like the definition of technology gone out of hand. It takes Veronica a while to warm up to the idea that her friend isn't going to bring her or anyone else any harm, but it'll take a bit longer that it would the others to earn back her trust.

[umbran6]

A Different Champion

Ok, hear me out on this - Leo should've been the champion of Hera rather than Jason. At the very least, they should've had a relatively more positive relationship in comparison to the one time they interacted in The Lost Hero.

For those who've seen my prior posts, you know I've analyzed Leo's importance in the plot. I would also further cement this in that Leo has more importance to Hera than Jason. Even from an initial viewpoint, Hera would have more motivation to help Leo considering his background. Esperanza Valdez was willing to raise her son and still love him despite her family blacklisting her for having a child as a single mother and willing to work 9-5 just so they could live. Jason was the second child of Jupiter and Beryl Grace, who this time was fully aware of her lover's divine nature, willingly having a child despite the fact that not only did it defile Hera's marriage, but it was the second child that was testament to Zeus' disregard for his Pact made among his brothers. Overall, Hera seems more likely to sympathize with Leo and Esperanza.

This sympathy and favor is visible when you examine how Hera interacts with them, even when they were young. I always found it pretty hard to believe that Hera would pressure Beryl Grace to sacrifice Jason to sate her wrath, because Jason and Thalia were already destined for persecution - Zeus had broken the Pact of the Big Three twice. Thalia was never specifically targeted by Hera ( and the statue incident is... questionable, considering Olympus was freaking collapsing and Hera was also busy fighting Typhon), and as far as we're informed by Riordan, Hera was never particularly active in Jason's life while he was in the 5th cohort of the legion.

On a side note, Beryl Grace was an utter idiot for naming her son after the OG Jason. The OG Jason may have initially been favored by Hera for being one of the few mortal heroes without any divine parentage. However, he also severely screwed the pooch because he willingly broke his wedding vows towards Medea by attempting to marry Glauce despite all that Medea did and risked for him, to the point that its noted in most analyses of Euripides' Medea that the titular protagonist got approval from the gods for all of her actions. So yeah, Beryl painted a very big target on her son with that name. And the less said about Thalia's name, the better.

Hera spends nearly most of Leo's youth acting as his nanny while Esperanza Valdez works in the warehouse so they can stay afloat. Though most of the time Leo discussed this in the Lost Hero, he focused on the bizarre and unusual — having him use knives to cut jalapeños, prodding him to poke a snake, the whole 'burning your fingerprints into the park bench' incident, there is more to it than that. Hera doesn't just encourage the traits of a stereotypical hero, but also Leo's creativity such as him drawing the Argo II in crayons and though he wasn't aware of it, gives Leo hints as to how his future may look like. We also kind of forget that Hera still willingly helped raise Leo for Esperanza, which must've been an immense boon because she was a single mother.

Hera even performs what is quite likely the same ritual Demeter applied to Demophon so long ago — roasting him in a fireplace so Hera can burn away his mortality. Of course, it could be argued that she was doing this to strengthen Leo so she could have a stronger demigod to fight against Gaea, but either way such a possibility would benefit him more than it would for Hera. Needless to say, she must've favored Leo to the extreme if she was willing to make him, a demigod son of Hephaestus, immortal.

Furthermore - and please hear me out - let's expand on this connection. Esperanza seemed to be aware of Hephaestus's true nature as an Olympian because she knew that Leo's powers came from him, so it wouldn't be too far to say she was aware of Hera's true nature. She didn't know, however, that Hera was planning to train Leo to become a being that would defeat Gaea when she rose. She made the Queen of the Gods to promise not to intervene in their lives until Leo became aware of his true nature when Esperanza saw the fireplace scene, because Leo noted that ever that day, Tia Callida never showed up in Leo's life afterwards. So when Leo knows he is a demigod, all bets are off and Hera can finally start playing a more active role in his life.

So, now hopefully I've established that Leo should've been Hera's champion considering how she seems a lot more sympathetic to Leo. Now let's imagine how this plays out in the story. For now I'm going to specifically focus on the Lost Hero, because that's the series Hera is more prominent. Jason's memories are still wiped, Piper still thinks Jason is her boyfriend, but Leo is remarkably spared from the memory-warping effect of the Mist and is aware that Jason just straight up appeared out of nowhere.

Leo doesn't have that same edge of trust towards Jason, but that gives him a better perspective on what exactly Jason was sent out for. So he notices that Jason has a coin engraved with Latin, he uses latin terminology to describe the monsters that hunted Leo since he was young, and sees that Jason has combat skills far more advanced than an amnesiac should really have, he starts putting the pieces a lot earlier than we expect and when he is introduced to Camp Half-Blood, Leo cooks up the theory that Jason may have come from a Roman camp, and reasonably cooks up the corresponding idea that Percy is now in said Roman Camp.

When Leo figures out Jason's true origins, two things happen: he immediately tells it to Annabeth (he's not that much of a dick to hide what actually happened to her bf), and Hera conjures a specter to confirm this theory and explain why she's doing what she's doing. The whole scheme against the Earth Witch that killed Leo's mom, and that oh yeah, there's a wrench in the scheme. This concentrated method turns the gist of the quest from how the original Lost Hero presented it:

'Oh, this nebulous evil villain is going to use me as a freaking battery for her son/dragon and that sucks, so you must rescue me.' Oh yeah, and Percy is gone too, and we don't know where the freaking Tartarus he is, so there's that.

To this:

The Witch that was involved in your mother's death has captured me so that she can use me to fuel the resurrection of her strongest fighter. So if you want to get some sweet, sweet revenge/atonement for your mom's death you have to rescue me. Also, I'm holding your friend's memories with me so if you want to help him recover who he his he will also want to join. Percy Jackson? The guy who's gone missing? I have him with me as well, so Annabeth Chase better actually help out, or he's going to die too. You're in? Okay, here's how to do it, and you better get your butt here before the Winter Solstice because that is the day the absorption process is going to finish and things will really go to hell in a hand basket.

With that single message, we actually have people that aren't just following a prophecy. Annabeth joins the party because, oh yeah, now she finally knows where her boyfriend is and is willing to stomach saving the goddess she hates the most in order to help him. Jason's in it because Hera wants his memories and wants to know why she got him involved in her gambit in the first place. Leo? We have the direct motive of him wanting to atone for his mother's death while also getting revenge against the other party that was also involved. Piper's the unexpected fourth party member/possible traitor because her dad's still being held hostage.

Now, I'm not going to delve into the full plot detail changes, but a good chunk of it remains the same with some other changes. Annabeth gets a stronger friendship with Leo on an intellectual level, because you know, the guy was able to offer her a bit of hope in finding her boyfriend. He's more cautious of Jason, but also more genuinely comforting. And finally... he's suspicious as heck of Piper, because he can feel there's something more behind her joining the quest.

But I want to focus on this scene: when Leo gets claimed by Hera as her champion. I, preferably, would imagine it takes place after she is rescued from becoming a power source for Porphyrion. Mainly because then she would have enough power to do a proper claiming and thus she can be as extra with it as possible.

I mean, imagine it. Everyone's gotten back from rescuing Hera, they're all patting themselves on the back and everyone's praising Jason, Piper, and Annabeth unwittingly ignoring Leo. Everyone's hearing about Jason fighting Porphyrion, Piper getting to free her dad from Enceladus, the surprise reveal of the search for Percy, when...

A light starts to glow above Leo's head. It's faint at first, but then it grows more vibrant and swells to cover the entire dining pavilion, swallowing him whole. Then it fades away to reveal Hera, putting a crown of laurel leaves on Leo's head, his clothing replaced with a chiton that was dyed ruby red that glimmered against the firelight from the braziers. A peacock is glowing above his head, the hundreds of eyes shining like the aurora of the north.

Leo's stunned as his mind does his best to process his new reality. Hera gives him a single, warm smile, and everyone else is staring in shock as she announces his status as her champion and gives him her divine blessing. Camp Half-Blood practically erupts in shock because this is the first time the camp has witnessed a male demigod being claimed as Hera's champion with the last guy being... the OG Jason.

I mean, the look of horror in Annabeth's eyes as she realizes one of her friends is now the champion of the goddess that she hates with a burning passion. Jason suddenly realizing that Leo was a lot more in the know of Hera's whole plot than he suspected, because why otherwise would Hera make him her champion? The members of Cabin Nine, suddenly looking at Leo with a sense of betrayal because yeah, Hera's the goddess that threw their dad off of Olympus. Leo isn't really sympathetic with them, Hephaestus had practically abandoned him for sixteen years of his life and forsaken him for eight. Piper can't exactly see him in the same light - how could she, when suddenly her friend had changed so suddenly?

All of this happens as Chiron steps forward, bowing in front of Leo and his patron before uttering these words: "Hera. Goddess of the Heavens, Protector of Men, Patron of Rulers. Hail, Leo Valdez, Champion of the Queen of Olympus."

[nighthaunting]

You ever have a moment where you reconsider something you thought a lot about in the past but then sort of turned your attention away from for a while, and your new perspective just blows the whole thing open?

Me thinking about russ and magnus during ATS/PB today after years of taking a break from HH/40K lore yielded one such series of revelations.

I was thinking about Betrayer and Russ' attempt to give Angron a lesson via the Night of the Wolf. I was thinking about Prospero Burns and Russ' belief that he's had a direct line to Magnus this whole time via Kaspar. I was thinking about that 'please'. And.

I know this is pretty much canon to the text but I've never before really Considered that one of Russ' motives in keeping this guy alive and sending him out on compliances with his Legion was (Russ believed at least) letting Magnus see the SW in action and hoping that this might influence him into trying to Avoid doing anything that might cause Russ to be sent after him.

In the past I've talked a lot about the SW keeping Kaspar around to see what would happen in terms of thinking the TS were up to something or going to do something to the Legion, which is very much the assumption the Chaos entity wanted them to make, but looking back I tbh think i slept on the concept of Russ, who canonically has taken out at least one of the Lost Primarchs in an event which is prefers not to speak (or at least the codex Strongly Implies that Russ has been used against another primarch before), and who also canonically went into the Night of the Wolf fully willing to die to make his point to Angron if only Angron could understand what he was doing.

I'm sort of compelled by the concept because in a sense Russ was letting (what he thought was) Magnus take a peek behind the barbarian mask he likes to put on, to see into a more genuine heart of his legion, letting his guard down a bit by allowing this obviously-compromised spy in. Much the same way he let the mask drop when he went to try and talk some sense into Angron, bringing up philosophy and reading and ideals that Russ' ignorant-but-noble barbarian persona would never admit to being interested in let alone reading.

And both times the gambit failed, in Magnus' case because it wasn't Magnus on the other end of the line, and in Angron's case because he was too far gone to really get what Russ was illustrating for him.

The whole thing was orchestrated so well, ironically giving the "proof" that Magnus was up to something via this sleeper agent spy that the SW were toting around with them, playing on Russ being curious enough to keep this guy around and connect the dots on the (false) links between this guy and the TS. I have this headcanon that Russ and Lorgar were actually fairly close, with Russ actually talking to Lorgar about Lorgar's writings, because he didn't seem surprised that Russ had read them and had thoughts on them in Betrayer, so I actually sort of like the idea that he had a hand in setting up the fall of Prospero? I like the tragedy of the idea that he at least had some input on the idea, being familiar enough with Russ to know he'd take the bait.

Which would make that a third time Russ got genuine with someone and had it either fail or be used against him...

[on-this-day-mcr]

On this day, April 9

In 2002: My Chemical Romance gave their first ever interview. The interview, featuring Gerard and Mikey, was for Snagglezine, a New Jersey fanzine run by two Eyeball Records interns.  Read the interview here, or below the cut!

M: I'm Michael Way, I play the bass guitar. G: I'm Gerard Way, I'm the singer. K: Your biggest influences? G: Iron Maiden. M: The Smiths. G: At the Gates, Brit pop, Blur, Morrisey, shit like that. Like metal, like melodic metal. We're all about it, like Helloween, big influences. M: Oh yeah. Keeper of the Seven Keys. G: You can't hear any of our influences in our music though but it's there. M: It's subconsciously in the music, but nobody else can pick it up unless you're looking for it, you can't really pick on what's there. K: We hear that you just signed to Eyeball (Records). How's it feel to be signed to such a great label? G: We're fucking really excited. M: It's so excellent. G: I've know Alex for a while, I probably shouldn't say that, Alex is fucking great. M: ..and an amazing human being. We've known him and he took care of fucking Thursday and we were psyched about that, but not only that, we were really psyched to be with Pencey Prep because those kids fuckin helped us out right from the start. They gave us their tour van when we needed it, they gave us their fuckin tour van! Hambone gave us the tour van and fuckin cause they're getting a new one and they gave us a spot in their practice studio that we share with them, so we share a practice studio with them. C: Yeah Alex got us our first interview, Thursday. M: Yeah I remember, I was right there. No, but it's great cause it's like a family, we all hang out all the time, it's amazing. G: We can't hang out with Thursday as much as we'd like to cause they're always on tour which is gonna happen to all our bands now. K: Favorite bands to play with and favorite venue? G: Pencey (Prep). M: So far it's just Pencey (Prep) but the Loop (Lounge) was hot. G: But the Loop, even though they don't let kids in which sucks, I don't like that 21 and over stuff, but it had great sound. M: Yeah, there's like a professional sound guy. G: But this place (Garfield American Legion) had great sound. C: CBGB'S had good sound for Thursday. M: Oh the Piebald one? C: Yeah. G: Oh I want to play there. C: It's good. M: So far we only played about 5 shows, out of 5 shows, the Loop was the best. G: And we got an encore there. M: Yeah people were calling for an encore. K: That's awesome, we've never been there. Have you guys played in any bands before? G: Me and Mikey had this band called Raygun Jones and we were like, you know, really young and he was the bass player back then too. We had a female bass player and she just dropped out so we just put a bass on Mikey pretty much the same way we did this time. We put a bass on him and said play. We trained him. M: Yeah exactly. It's like I normally play guitar but like my brother came up to me with the material and I was just so blown away that I had to join. I was like, "I don't care what I play" and "I have to be in this somehow". G: He really filled out our band. We had a good vibe going anyway but then when he was in it, it clicked. And that's why, the way you saw us play out there today, we weren't playing like that until Mikey was playing tight with us and joining. K: How long have you guys been established and what was your reason for starting a band? G: The band, uh, me and Otter really got together in November, I believe, and the real reason we established it was because it has a lot to do with the September 11th attack. I was on my way to get ready for a Cartoon Network meeting because I do cartoons and stuff and he had that option. We saw the plane hit right from the train and when we got there we were all just standing on the pier in Hoboken like right on the edge. There's like 300 people that were friend and family and we all saw it go down. That's when I realized that doing this cartoon was bullshit, I love to draw and make art but it was so commercial, it was just that I felt like having meetings with people in suits, it just made me realize what the hell I'm doing with my life. That's what our 1st song that we always open with "Skylines and Turnstyles" is about. It's about the Trade Center. C: Although I'm a big fan of the Cartoon Network and like 3 in the afternoon in your pajamas... G: Yeah but dealing with them is not fun. That actually got it and everyone like came together through the music. It's like therapy. K: How did you get the name and does it imply that you guys are quite the partiers? M & G: Hahaha Oh!!! G: We used to call Mike "Mikey Party" but now he's "Mikey Romance". K: That's how we met you! M: Yeah it was at a party. G: It's like 11 different meanings for the band. You can take them anywhere. On a personal level, for me, it's about anti-depressants. I was like so depressed about a year ago and I just wanted to cut my fuckin face off. It's also like a reference to Irvine Welsh and his books. M: All his books are like classified as Chemical Romances. It's like love stories where there's like drugs involved. C: Yeah, I went to google to see if you guys had a site and all his stuff came up. M: Yup yup, Irvine Welsh. Now there's only 2 people so far that picked up on that. Two people were like "Whoa, you mean like Irvine Welsh?". But it's a personal level, like we took the name and we brought it to a personal level. G: Yeah it really means for me anti-depressants. Like we drink beer and shit... M: We like to party. K & C: Hell yeah. G: We drink and party, we rock and roll man. K: Yeah, the most "un-edge" name, right? G: We don't like do drugs though. C: You're not my friend then. (haha, he's kidding). M: Yeah we don't need drugs to have a good time. :: Gerard announces slumber party and that guitar player takes guitar to a whole new level because he has a gash and is bleeding:: K: One more serious one, what do you guys think of the sudden outburst of bands on indie labels such as Thursday, Phantom Planet, Hot Water Music, and Rival Schools being played on MTV2 and MTVX? G: I think, I always thought this because I've been an artist with comics from that whole scene too. Anything from the underground eventually makes its way up. It's like something underground, it's new and fresh and it's eventually gonna make its way up to the tv. It's bound to happen, it happens with everything. Nirvana is the best example of it and I think that's what's gonna happen with Jersey and I think it's gonna be great. M: I think it's like survival of the fittest cause like whoever's doing it for the right reasons is gonna survive and whoever's doing it for the wrong reasons is gonna get chopped and fried and we all know who's doing it for the right reasons. C: Yeah we know. Do you guys like Dragon Tales? G: We're Lord of the Rings fans. M: No, he's talking about the cartoon. C: ...on PBS. G: The only exposure I have with Dragon Tales is that little kids come in and ask for the cd @ B & N. C: Best Valentine's gift you ever got? G: I'm about to get one right now but I haven't seen it yet. Shit. I haven't really gotten any. I got roses, I love roses so a girl got me roses. That was pretty cool. M: You know what, I can't even remember getting one because there hasn't been a powerful female outlet in my life to give me a Valentine's day gift. So there's no Valentine's day gift I can remember. C: No little candy hearts from grandma or mom or anything like I usually get? M: No way! K: You got frogs this year. M: You're lucky dude. C: Yeah I got frogs from her. Disney character that most represents you? M: Donald Duck. G: Yeah Mike dressed up like Donald Duck in 2nd grade. M: It was a fuckin rad costume, my grandma made it. G: It was fuckin hot and then the next year he dressed up as a stay puff marshmallow. M: And it was also really hot. G: Mr. Toad. C: Would you guys ever cover "The Lady Is A Tramp" by Frank Sinatra? M: It could be done. G: Could we do that? M: It could totally be done. G: Yeah I could see us doing that. M: Cause Frankie's awesome. G: What about doing a Dean Martin or a Sammy? M: Those guys knew how to party man. C: The Rat Pack. G: The Sans Crew. Vegas man. We want to bring Hambone with us cause he always wins on slots. M: He's the King of Slots. ::tangent on Hambone:: Other members not in interview: Otter (Matt)->drums Ray Toro->guitar, phenomenal

[luckykittysshowerthoughts]

I made a similar ask a while ago but i don't know if tumblr ate it or some other predicament (if you just didn't want to answer it that's fine too)

Do you think Michael had a childhood? And if he did, how do you think it was?

Omg I'm so sorry 😭 I was going to say I think Tumblr ate it, but I just looked back in my inbox and found it.

Probably what happened was this was sent during a bit of a semi-hiatus of mine. I got into a bit of a mental health funk and lost interest in Michael, so I probably just wasn't feeling it then forgot to circle back to this when I actually got back into the headspace to do so.

Anyway... enough explanations and into the actual question.

I'm tempted to say no, that he didn't have a childhood. This is based on some of my theories/headcanons regarding him and Barbatos (I still need to get around to writing that post @_@), and iirc Barbatos canonically never had a childhood.

However... that's boring. So, I'm going to go into some kid!Michael headcanons!

I imagine Michael's childhood having been relatively quiet and uneventful. The realms had only just been created, after all- there weren't very many beings around to cause problems, and things were only just starting to go into motion. Things started to get rowdy in his teen years, as the Devildom and Celestial Realm began to clash and he found himself leading legions of angels onto the battlefield, but his earliest years were quite unremarkable.

Michael was the first and only angel, for a while. But it didn't take long for him to get his first brother: Lucifer. The two essentially grew up together- Michael was a little older, but they experienced their childhood together.

Though it was just him and Lucifer for a while, Michael couldn't stop thinking about his siblings soon to be. Michael can see time, and got little glimpses of the future of his family. He'd offhandedly tell Lucifer the vague little tidbits that he somehow seemed to just know, excitedly rambling about their siblings-to-be.

"The next one's name is going to be... Simon? Or was it Simeon? Anyway. He's going to be even-tempered with the kindest smile, and he's going to love flowers!"

And Lucifer wouldn't quite believe him- only Father could know such things. But he'd chuckle a little and say, "Alright, Michael."

When the angels were just a small few, Michael would get lonely often. He tended to cling to Lucifer as his best friend, his first playmate. Whenever he got bored, he'd go talk Lucifer's ears off about something or other. It... was a little much for Lucifer at times. Eventually, Lucifer suggested Michael start writing down his thoughts instead of constantly subjecting him to them. As such, Michael got his diary, and has been religiously filling it out ever since. Nowadays, having that place to empty his thoughts makes him miss Lucifer a little less, and a little more.

Back then, Lucifer was the one on the straight and narrow. Michael was all over the place. He was the one who'd sneak down to the human world, to see rumored wonders like "stars" and "sunsets". He'd put off his duties like a little kid who didn't want to do their homework, refuse to sleep alone and regularly crawl into Lucifer's bed when Father stopped cuddling him to sleep. He took a lot longer to "grow up". Sometimes, he's convinced he still hasn't. Even if he's too ashamed to ever admit it.

[wordy-little-witch]

Hiiiii and also KDKSJXJSJXJSKZKX- baby post was something i never knew i needed dosjdjsx pls i need more headcanons abt bby Bronwyn D. Crown

Im laughing cuz buggy litrally just cloned himself cuz i was wondering whose paternal genes will the bby take after but then its a mini fem buggy lmao

Also the cross guilds reaction to the baby is so cute esp daz aaaaa ofcours the man who used to dream being a superhero is soft inside

And both croc n mihawk fainting dksjdisod

Plsss i need to know wat theyre and crossguild is like when taking care of the baby djsjjsdjsj pls let her be super smart like her dads aaaa

The domesticity is ❤️

So honestly while Winni le DOES definitely take after Buggy the most, she's not quite a CLONE per se. Her hair is a dark, almost black, blue, and her nose is a little less RED red and more pink-red. Everything else though? Carbon copy from birth.

As far as genes go, they never really push for the testing bc it's redundant, though Croc is almost positive it's Mihawk - while he did fully head to toe transition via Iva, the likelihood of it being him is really really infintisimally slim. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter, really. Winnie is their baby and they all love her to pieces.

Daz absolutely is her biggest fan, barring her parents and in a literal sense. He's wrapped around her little finger and as she grows, she KNOWS it. He'll play with her, and if anyone laughs or makes a remark, he can and will stare into their soul while unflinchingly stating he is simply doing his duties to the highest degree - what are they doing with this doubtless free time? He has some recommendations-

Tbf though the number of people who would laugh about it leave fairly quickly, leaving a veritable LEGION of men, women and others who are ready to ride or die for this kid.

You know those tiktok videos of animals meeting the new baby for the first time? That with Ritchie. That would be so cute. So silly. Just. Ritchie being a big baby and just all worship eyes at this new baby because '!!!!! Small human!!!!! Like cap!!!!!! Weird smell!!!!!!! Must lick!!!!!!!'.

He keeps sneaking into her nursery to lay beside the crib or just snuffle her in her sleep. They wind up setting traps. He keeps evading them. Nobody can figure out how. Mihawk proposes that he's simply so No Thoughts Head Empty that he evades the traps on pure luck and ditzy fortune.

Alvida is definitely searching high and low for "my awesome aunt got me this-" type of things, then getting matching outfits, baby sunglasses, etc, just READY for dress up and lil self care. She's also the type to carry on full conversations with Winnie as a baby without baby talk. Just meeting babbles with "girl, he said WHAT? No, hold up, tell auntie everything-" or "baby girl, you will not believe what tea I got today-"

Cabaji dreams of teaching her to ride her first unicycle. Will settle for rollerblades. Very protective, but also liable to lose the baby somehow in a market and then explode.

Mohji shares his love for animals with her and is so smug when Winnie grows up and continues on with a constant love and adoration for animals.

Galdino gets her into art, and she continues on with that, even on well into her adult years.

As for intelligence, she definitely winds up as smart as her parents - she goes on to study zoology and animal psychology, becoming a veterinarian and then later revamping the entirety of the veterinary science field in the Grandline, then later in some of the other Seas.

She also works with her parents' business as well tbf, though she focuses more on the vigilante side of it - popping amoral smugglers, sinking slavers, the works. She also may or may not have planted a few bombs in some marine bases when she went to do the animal checks for the base, depending on their history, regard, and the state of their animals. She's got her own moral compass, one which she follows like her own northern star.

All in all, there's a lot of domestic silliness that Winnie brings about.

[telltalecoyote]

Summoned by Rytlock Brimstone to face punishment over the previous night's deeds, Cassius grapples with guilt and remorse for the crime that led to the injury of a fellow soldier at the behest of his sire's strange dream for the legions. Very short story below!

AKA Cassius did a bad thing and now he faces the consequences

(This is a VERY early scene I was thinking about a LOT as I do my play-through of base game)

With no sleep the night prior, Cassius had been sitting at his desk for hours, head planted firmly in the palms of his paws, a summons was delivered not long ago and laid before him, very pointedly left on the blank side as he hoped it would simply disappear.

“Tribune Brimstone.” The signature at the bottom of the summons read, not ‘Rytlock,’ or the even more informal ‘Ryt’ that he was known to use with Cassius for short notice and that alone made stomach drop further than it has in any of his recent field assignments.

He knew what this was about, and the astonishment lingered. Despite covering up his tracks and his sire's, he had even made it seem like no crime had been committed at all. Cassius thought to himself, "What was I thinking? It was treason on both our ends. I was an idiot for believing him, I deserve whatever happens."

His mind raced back to the promises of last night, of revolutionizing the legions, his sire's assurances that no cub would face the horrors he had endured nor have to grow up struggling with no support for similar situations as his. Cassius, however, knew it was too good to be true. A good man was comatose because of him, and he felt responsible. "Change the legions, might as well make me Khan Ur while you’re at it."

The walk to Brimstone's office felt agonizing, minutes stretching into an eternity due to his overwhelming guilt. Rounding the stairs, he tried hard not to glance out over the balcony and over towards the Asuran portal where it all transpired, but he couldn't resist.

With a curt nod to the charr standing guard outside the Tribune’s office, Cassius stalled a moment and took a deep breath, hearing from his flank; “Brimstone’s pissed, hate to be the guy who got on his bad side.”

“Agreed.” Cassius couldn’t tell if he was being mocked or not, but it mattered little. As he entered the office, it felt as if the air was sucked out of the room once it was just the two of them, despite having half expected to find his sire dragged in here as well, bound in cuffs.

“Ryt–” Cassius started, hands folded behind his back in respect as he straightened up, he could anticipate the anger in the Tribune’s voice.

“Brimstone, Witherpaw, it’s Tribune Brimstone.” Rytlock growled, Cassius couldn’t see his face as he stood by the office’s window, back turned. “You know why you are here, did you think I wouldn’t know?”

Cassius gulped. “...Sir, It was a mistake, I don’t know what went through my mind–”

Rytlock spun around, slamming his fist against his desk, causing a ruckus; startling and silencing the younger charr who still stood firm. “Are you stupid, Witherpaw? Or do you just think I am?

Cassius didn’t respond, grimacing as he couldn’t find the strength to meet his superior’s gaze.

"You were such a good soldier, did everything I asked,  went above and beyond with little asking from me," Rytlock's gaze unmoving, "And yet, you were so eager to throw everything away like this? Because your sire filled your head with lies?" 

After a brief pause and no response, he continued. “Even I used to think Ash was stupid to let someone as arrogant and sloppy as Oberon be a spy, but maybe I was wrong if he was able to pull the wool over your eyes, of all people!”

"I apologize, sir. It’s just, he’s my—Oberon, he gave me reasons to trust in what he was doing, even if not for those purposes, he would have no reason—or even ability—to use that information for harm, you’ve said you trusted my call in these sorts of situations." Cassius spoke up, his voice notably quieter.

“That was before you got your fellow charr hurt.” Rytlock didn’t yell this time, and yet it felt even worse. "Do you know what power that words can hold for charr like him; charr even worse than him? Thinking like that is dangerous, Witherpaw." 

Rytlock spat, his glare burning holes into Cassius who struggled to maintain eye contact. "Thinking like that is what creates defectors, it always does, like... like moths to a flame, THE Flame!"

Behind his back, Cassius’ claws dug into his arms as he weathered the assault. Cassius was much younger than the tribune, but he was no cub. Yet, he felt like a child being scolded by his father, a pet being punished by its owner, he couldn't help but take this treatment on a personal level rather than the interaction between military personnel like he should have.

Eventually, Rytlock sighed. Cassius had been one of the tribune’s most loyal legionnaires in what felt like ages; he didn’t wish to give Cassius more reason to turn on him, that would be a waste of talent. "I could have you executed on the spot, but for both our sakes, we can say this was just another crime being pinned on his back by a rival of his. I trust you."

Cassius kept his head low, and despite the words of reassurance; he simply was too afraid to look up. "More importantly, I already have an inkling as to where and to whom that information is going; it won't prove to be any more trouble for me as far as I am concerned. I am simply disappointed in you." 

"You won’t screw up like this again. I have a few assignments coming up that call for my attention, I know I can trust in you to join me." Rytlock grumbled, he approached Cassius and hooked a claw under the younger charr’s chin, tilting his head up to meet his gaze. “There, you will listen and do EXACTLY as I command.”

"Yes, thank you, Tribune Brimstone," Cassius gulped, noting the change in Rytlock’s tone—stern, reassuring, and familiar. "Anything you ask."

[sciencebecameouraddiction]

it all fell down

part one: the mighty have fallen

ratings: M (talk of war, rebellion, death and destruction, bleeding, wounds, lots of curse words, etc etc.)

summary: after adam died in the first extermination, lute calls for more frequent exterminations, rallying heaven’s population into believing that hell is a threatening force. once she succeeds, the legion of angels can come down to hell every 6 months, the only difference, charlie and lucifer aren’t safe any more. with their backs against the wall, rebellion is the only option but what happens when heaven pulls their final ace in their sleeve?

part two

the fighting was like a vortex, pulling one in and spitting one out. thankfully, no one had been hurt that was a patron of the hotel. that didn’t mean that the chance wasn’t still there as husk yelled, “they just keep coming!”

i realized as a spear caught my side, an angel sneered at me as then a blast threw me back, we got here by our own doing but we were here due to two mistakes. mistakes that we couldn’t have corrected even if we wanted to, because even though we were in hell, we were incredibly naive.

___________________

after the first fight with heaven, many things had transpired. with adam dead, lute became general and her thirst for vengeance transcended even the most deranged hell born. she pushed and pushed for quarterly exterminations. sera disagreed and pushed back. in one of the meetings they had, lute had pushed too far, causing emily to speak out against everything that had happened. we only knew what happened when golden light ripped through the sky a few months prior. lucifer froze seeing it and rushed out of the hotel, the only thing we could understand was when he yelled, “someone fell!”

maybe that was when all of our problems started. when everything turned to shit, was emily falling. 

after emily fell and recovered we were told about heaven’s plans. what they were trying to do. the most recent meeting that caused emily to fall, lute had brought up the quarterly exterminations, but now she wanted more. she said that the legion of exterminators should have the ability to kill charlie and lucifer morningstar and anyone who comes between the legion and their targets. as they were a threat to the very foundation that heaven stands on.

the silence that fell onto the hotel was deafening as i gripped the couch i was holding onto, my gaze automatically falling to lucifer, eyes wide as he looked disgusted. he shook his head as charlie looked up at him, worried, as vaggie clutched charlie’s hand. his jaw clenched as he excused himself from the group, stating he had business to take care of. my heart was seized in my throat at that moment as he motioned for me to follow him and i squeezed charlie’s shoulder. trying to provide some comfort.

when we reached his room, he sat on the bed, his head in his hands as he broke down sobbing. “i knew this would happen, but i thought they’d point their hatred at me. not charlie. oh, not charlie.” he sobbed, his words coming out broken and disjointed as i quickly kneeled in front of him, pulling him into me and clutching him to me. he was worried for charlie, and i was too, but i was worried for him too. i couldn’t loose either of them. 

the months that followed were many meetings with sera and heaven, fighting against what lute was demanding. lute, though, we underestimated. our first mistake. 

she had gathered a lot of heavenly support, calling for the extermination of hell itself. the entirety of it, as the heavenly residents felt that even the very existence of hell was a threat to themselves. we then learned that sir pentious, who was redeemed in the last extermination was being held in heaven’s prison, partially to protect him but also because the support lute had gathered demanded that the “sinner be locked up.”

we were at our wits end, with no footing to hold onto. it was seemingly the end of the road and that solidified when sera let us know that there had been a compromise and that they would do the extermination twice a year. the new terms included that charlie and lucifer could be killed during an extermination now, but they could defend themselves. it was the lowest and most hopeless i had seen lucifer and charlie. the rest of the hotel were somberly aware of what that meant, hiding or fighting.

after much discussion, lucifer and charlie explained they were fighting. a rebellion was to start and we’d take it to heaven’s door if need be. i stood beside them, clutching lucifer’s hand, the only show of how scared i was showing in the tremor i know he felt.

“we don’t expect you to fight in this. it is most likely a suicide mission. heaven is hell bent to protect the order that has been upheld for thousands of years. charlie’s hotel and the idea itself, was proven with sir pentious, and has scared them. lute is leading this force and will have eyes set out for all of you. if you are not fighting, it would be best to hide.” i explained, speaking up. the crew looked at eachother, many like they were going to cry but shockingly alastor stepped forward.

“while we have believed charlie’s idea to be a fools dream, i was at least proven… wrong. i will be here to help defend the hotel.” alastor said, with the others stepping up. lucifer looked at me shocked as he nodded at alastor in appreciation. this was our second mistake.

__________________

the ringing in my ears signaled me coming back to, not realizing i had passed out on the battle field. i looked up and saw angel swimming in my vision. 

“doll, get up. we gotta go.” he said shaking me and trying to drag me up.

“fuck, angel, i was stabbed. hold on.” i say clutching my side as he all but drags me through the battle field.

“no time. we gotta go.” he says, for the first time fear is on his face. 

“angel, what happened?” i ask, trying to walk to help him.

“lilith. she’s here. she’s here and alastor let her down here. she owns his soul. he’s her little fuckin’ pet. and she’s on heaven’s side. charlie and lucifer are fighting her now but lucifer told me to get you somewhere safe.” angel says. my eyes widen as i see the crew waving at angel. husk telling angel to “hurry the fuck up”. 

“no! i can’t leave them.” i stop angel as he turns to me and i drop to my knees. i quickly pull out a large vial i had around your neck, i unstopper it and drink half, grimacing. i feel myself stitching back up, and i stand up. handing the vial to angel, i instruct him to share it with the others, ignoring the questions i knew he had. “it’ll help heal you.” i explain as i turn to where i could see red, black and green light combating in the sky like a sick fire show against the muted red sky.

“what are you doing?” angel said, tears falling.

“i’m going to help them, and i hope to see you on the other side.” i smile, reaching my arm out, grabbing an angelic axe in an angels body. i wave to the group as i jump in the air and let my wings materialize for the first time since i was in hell. i quickly make it over to the fighting and narrow in on the green magic. my eyes lock in on alastor as i tackle him, my axe at his throat. 

“do you want to fight?” i ask simply. he shook his head no. “i’m knocking you out and tying you up over there. we’ll talk about this shit,” i motion to the green chain on his throat, “later.” i then take the dull end of the axe handle and quickly knock alastor out, angelic ropes quickly binding him. as i turn, my wings disappear as i walked up to what seemed like a tame scene. lucifer was talking to lilith as lilith looked like she was crying. lucifer held his hands up to her, almost like he was placating a cornered animal. trying to show he meant no harm.

“please mom, we don’t want to fight you.” i hear charlie say, and i see vaggie standing in front of her protectively.

“lilith, just stop this. you can live in heaven. i don’t care. heaven doesn’t care. we can make sure you have the peaceful life in heaven you wanted. the one that i robbed you of. just stop all this.” lucifer tried to reason. i saw her eyes turn green and watched as a branch like shadow came out of the ground, headed straight for lucifer.

it felt like time had slowed. it felt like i had gone through the five stages of grief i had heard of before but in a second as i screamed for lucifer to move. i ran toward him, wanting to push him out of the way. he turned toward me shocked, his back toward lilith, his eyes wide as he tried to stop me. i wasn’t quick enough as i watched as the branch impaled his chest and he stood there shocked, looking at the branch as an apple bloomed on it. he turned his head back to look at lilith, questioning why she would do this. no one heard her answer as charlie went into a fit of rage, shoving past vaggie and running over to her mother, tearing her apart limb by limb. the legion of angels seeing their leader, in essence be ripped apart sent them scrambling back up to heaven, looking like a flock of birds in the sky. i rushed to lucifer as the branch disappeared as lilith died, he collapsed to his knees, gripping onto me. charlie ran over to us, holding her dad, crying.

“please… no, dad. you can’t.” she cried, trying to stop the bleeding. “we can fix this? right?” she looks at me sobbing. “i just have to fix this.” her body shaking as vaggie kneels next to her.

“charlie, listen to me, you’ll be a great ruler of hell. okay? you’re going to do amazing things. and even though i wasn’t the best at showing it, i love you more than the stars and sky itself.” lucifer said, kissing charlie on her forehead as he collapsed into me. he rested upon me and i felt the warm liquid seeping from him be absorbed by my clothes. i felt as the fabric became so filled with his life that it dripped off my knees into the ground below. but so did my tears, silent as charlie sobbed, but running down my cheeks, soaking my shirt and his hair. 

“no, please. i have to do something!” charlie cried, looking at vaggie, who looked distraught. vaggie’s expression only making charlie cry harder.

“take care of her?” he asks me, looking up at me. 

“always.” i respond easily. charlie sobs harder, her head on lucifer’s chest, as his hand rests on her head.

“remember me?” is his last request.

“i could never forget you.” i try and smile at him but he smiles back at me, so genuine as if to say don’t worry. his eyes close and charlie screams out. my head falls to his as i press a kiss to his forehead. “goodbye, my love.”

part two

[anime-and-toon-oc-time]

Hey @ask-milo-suzuki (look! Daddy Legion!)

LEGION YAMAMOTO VS NUCKALAVEE GRIMM

Slayers and hunters fear my hoovesteps

Nuckalavee Grimm info:

Height: 15 feet

Weight: 900lbs

Weapons: Claws, Hooves

Strengths: One of the strongest creatures of Grimm to ever exist, Has caused the deaths of countless Huntsmen and innocent civilians, Immensely powerful (Having killed countless Huntsmen of varying skill including Lie Ren’s parents, Nearly killed Team RNJR), Is extremely durable (Has a multitude of Weapons sticking out of it causing it no harm of discomfort, It took everything Team RNJR had to wear it down and defeat it), Extreme reflexes (Was able to react and counter attacks from Team RNJR when they attacked it from multiple sides and angles), Can stretch its arms for ranged attacks.

Weaknesses: Seems to be only able to move either the Horse or humanoid parts of its body at a time (the humanoid part hanging limp off when the Horse half moves and the Horse standing stock still whilst the humanoid part attacks).

Legion Yamamoto info:

Height:7foot 2 as a humanoid oni but he grows up to 35-40 foot as a true demon

Weight:Unknown but he makes sink holes when he jumps and craters when he falls.

Weapons:metal club, claws, teeth, demon blood art.

Strengths:despite being younger then most demons by the time he steps into the limelight he's one of the strongest demons that lived and he's survived everything up to an unknown death (the whole village was chanting for Kaito to win against Posiden.) Insane strength (threw train cars at muzan as a demon as a human he ripped demons apart and could throw around a massive club to split demons in two as a demon he was strong enough to split mountains and easily threw a large robot triple the size of a tank called Nancy. [According to death battle it should way 15 to 20 tons]) Insane durability (one of the few demons that's immune to sunlight and can't die by decapitation. Being an Oni in the reboot timeline he is bullet and blade proof. He's also been decapitated so many times it's nothing more then a nuisance.) Suprising speed (Despite his massive size he kept up with Douma and helped both the slayers and tanjiro defeat muzan and akaza without slowing down. Kaito believes he's faster than upper moon 4) his blood art gives him the ability to make whatever he eats part of him (ate enough frogs to give himself multiple long tounges gained wings this way. He also did the same to deers cows and elks to grow extra legs. He can use weakened versions of blood arts if he eats a demon as long as he didn't digest them fully. Is the reason he can sprout multiple eyes and arms) Suprisingly good at fighting despite being a brezerker (survived fights against Yoriichi despite knowing what he could do. Fought muzan for 4 hours straight as a human with demon eater powers. Fought akaza to a standstill as a human.)

Weaknesses:he's very straightforward and prideictable in a fight. He canonically dies before the start of Izukus time according to the other Einherjars. While immune to demon weaknesses he has a skin/allergy to water which worsened when he became an Oni (melted to a puddle almost killing him when Milo alsomost got swept away in a flood in the future.) Will sacrifice himself without thinking even if it does more harm then good. He's a massive target.